Mt Vernon - Cosmetic Surgeons

Shoaib Akhtar, the 34 year old Pakistan fast bowler, has had liposuction to help him slim down. “Fat was removed from his abdomen, hip and back,” Dr Waqar Ahmad, who performed the procedure, said.

The 34-year-old paceman’s close friend and doctor, Tauseef Razaq, said “Shoaib is likely to be match-fit within four weeks time.” Sources said the player, nicknamed the Rawalpindi Express has lost about 12-13 kgs of weight after liposuction surgery.

Laser hair removal has consistently been one of the most popular cosmetic treatments and in the past 12 months of the recession it has remained as popular as ever. It is often seen as the “bread and butter” of a clinic’s operation and demonstrates that people are still interested in core treatments with proven results even during an economic downturn.

As a sign that treatments such as thread vein or tattoo removal are viewed as ‘necessary’ rather than ‘luxurious’ enquiries about these types of treatments are increasing in many parts of the country. They provide a cost effective, long-term, remedy and in the case of tattoo removal actually increases the chances of employment or promotion at work.

Over the last 5 years men have steadily been increasing in their take-up of laser treatments and it is estimated that nearly 20% of people who currently have had tattoos want to remove them.

Cosmetic surgery has long been popular in America and some of the best surgeons in the world reside there. However, a new tax proposed this week may see Americans coming to London for their treatments.

An $848-billion health care bill unveiled this week includes a 5% tax to come into effect in January. The tax will apply to all cosmetic surgeries and procedures, and is expected to raise an estimated $5-billion over the next decade, helping pay for extending health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

Plastic surgeons are devastated over the proposal saying, the recession has already battered their practices severely, and they are just beginning to recover from its adverse effects. Others are worried that after cosmetic surgery the tax will be applied to an increasing number of other procedures, such as, laser eye surgery, knee-replacement surgery, etc.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, insurance does not cover the 12 million cosmetic procedures and surgeries performed at a total cost of $10.3 billion, last year. The vast majority of the 10.4 million involved minimally-invasive services like Botox injections and chemical peels, with breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks, some of the most common surgeries.

The Sun newspaper reported today that a rising numbers of cash-strapped Britons are ordering home Botox kits. Retailing for around £100 the kits offer a saving of around £150 but experts warned that users are in danger of paralysis and even blindness – as the muscle-freezing toxin can stop eyeballs moving.

Medics say the risk is higher when novices give themselves the wrinkle-smoothing jabs. Buyers have to teach themselves how to inject the treatment using crude instruction sheets or by following videos posted online.

One clinic in Manchester reported that it had seen a 57 per cent rise in the number of patients seeking treatment after botched Botox since 2007. Over a third had bought the drug online and 83 per cent of these had self-injected.

In the US there have been 16 deaths linked to Botox, which can spread to vital organs and shut them down, and also trigger anaphylactic shock. Injecting Botox in the wrong place can also lead to droopy eyelids, breathing problems, inability to smile and difficulty eating and drinking.

Botox is a prescription-only treatment in the UK, but there are more than 5,000 internet sites offering the drug – mainly based in Russia and the Far East.

Women who desire to reduce the size of their breasts usually do so for health benefits. Now there is one more advantage to having the surgery. The tissues and fats coming from the breast reduction surgery could be tested for cancer and thus any anomalies could be found early.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) are already looking to encourage more surgeons to do this after they looked at many studies.

In one such piece of research two hundred women were tested. Malign cells or their pre-formation tissue were discovered in 12.4% of the studied women. The age of the patients was in a strong relationship with the negative cancer diagnosis. The study recorded that 6.2% of women who were 40 years of age presented cancer cells while 7.9% of the patients who were 50 years of age or older presented cancerous cells in their breasts.

The researchers recommended testing the tissues and fats coming from patients who underwent breast reduction surgeries in order to discover the cancer risk. The researchers also suggested these tests should be done expressly on women who are older than 40 years.